The mantel piece

 18 Months ago, Auntie Bett Doe had a sale to move items she had stored for some years. The kettle here is not the one seen sitting at the side of the fireplace at Wilmot in the photo below about 1960. It probably predates that one and came from Lower Wilmot . I should look up the manufacturer and see what I can find. The boiler is probably what was referred to as a camp oven and was kept over the fire for a continuous hot pot supply. Ephraim the younger !854-1834 noted in his diary that he paid 8/- for one about 1890, so they were rather expensive back then. A new suit cost the same amount.
Of course, the contents of the mantel piece were also a source of wonder. There was usually a clock, vases either empty or with flowers, often kitchen canisters, matches, candles, lamps, bunches of letters, corks ornaments and almost anything else that could be fitted. I doubt that many mantel pieces ever were dusted. The chore was just too great.
Photos were a later addition, and probably would have deteriorated from the continual heat. Sadly, this useful shelf which gave such interest and character to a home and explained so much about the lives of the people who lived there, is not a vital part of modern buildings. I wonder what Ephraim and Bridget kept on their mantelpiece.